I suffer from motion sickness. Not too bad mind you. I have seen these "wrist-band" type products that are supposed to prevent motion sickness. Do you know if these work?(they look like sweat-tbands only about 1 inch wide and have a little "button" on one side that you place on the inside of your wrist) If not what would you recommend for motion sickness, without getting drowsy?

I get motion sickness and used the Sea Bands in combination with Bonine which works better than Dramamine. We went out on a whale watch in New Zealand and conditions were choppy and they worked. When we were driving on the winding, narrow mountain roads and I would start to get sick, I'd put on the wrist bands and the sick feeling would go away.

Thanks for your questions, Paul. It is a good one, asked quite frequently.

SeaBands (and similar accupressure appliances) allegedly prevent motion sickness/seasickness by applying pressure to a pressure point in the wrist, inhibiting the sensitivity to vestibular (inner ear) disturbances. Many of the claims to the effectiveness of SeaBands are anecdotal; there is no good, definitive clinical study to support this claim. My personal reflection on the claims of effectiveness: if you believe that the SeaBands will work, they probably will (placebo effect).

For my recommendations, see my response to hdawson in this message board. I personally use a half-dose of meclizine (Bonine, etc.), because it works for me, but so did a half-dose of dimenhydrinate (Dramamine). Find something that does work for you, and use it.

Thank you for your advice. I too heard that the seabands worked as a placebo. That was only one persons opinion. I will definatly look into Bonine and Dramamine, I believe I heard that the latter causes drowsiness. Is this also a form of Atavan?

Both Dramamine and Bonine can cause drowsiness, although this side effect is reported at a higher prevalence with the Dramamine (~20-25% versus ~6% for Bonine). Dramamine belongs to the antihistamine class of drugs, and is not related Ativan (an antidepressant/anti-anxiety drug in the same class as Valium).

Being Canadian I can tell u it's not available here. Closet I've come across is "Gravol".
We just stop by a drug store in our departure city in the US and buy enough Bonine to have a supply onhand.
The odd thing is I've never had the need to use it. Just give it away to folks who we meet who occassionally need it.
Regards,
Kuki
Features Editor
CruiseMates.com

Last time we cruised I took ginger pills and never suffered but of course I don't know if it helped or I just didn't need it. That was a Western Caribbean itinerary and we've just booked the Eastern Caribbean itinerary and I've heard the water's in July are not as calm. I think I'll take your advice and get the Bonine once we get to the States just in case. Gravol just puts me to sleep.

I always use the patches. What do you think of them?
VickiJohn Burns, R.Ph. wrote:
>
> Hi, Wendy! You do know how to provide a challenge to this
> pharmacist!!
>
> Here are some of the other names Bonine might be available
> under:
>
> Generic: Meclizine Hydrochloride
>
> Trade: Antivert
> Marezine
> Dramamine II or Dramamine Non-Drowsy (my
> company has this contract manufactured in Canada)
> Ru-Vert-M
> Medivert
> D-Vert
> En-Vert
> Meclarex
> Meni-D
> Vertin-32
>
> Some of the international trade names for meclizine are:
>
> Ancolan
> Bonadoxine
> Bonamina or Bonamine
> Calmonal
> Chiclida
> Duramessan
> Meclicot
> Meclozine
> Peremesin
> Postafene
> Suprimal
> Yonyun
>
> Kuki referred to Gravol being available in Canada. The active
> ingredient (dimenhydrinate) in Gravol is the same as in the
> original product, Dramamine or Dramamine Chewable.
>
> I am uncertain if any of these are the international trade
> names are available in Canada, but hopefully, you can find one
> of these through your pharmacist.
>
> Happy Cruising, Wendy!
>
> John Burns, R.Ph.

The scopolamine patches have their place in therapy, but because of a significant percentage of users experiencing side effects, I generally wouldn't recommend these as my first choice. Additionally, these are restricted to prescription sales only, and generally will be an expensive alternative to the over-the-counter and homeopathic methods of seasickness control.

I hope this answers your question. For more information regarding the side effects of the patches, see my reply to Anne Campbell's query below on this message board.

I must be in the 6 % of people who get drowsy from Bonine because I used it on a cruise a couple years ago and it knocked me out. I used it the day we flew to the port, and we were glad I did not wait until the next day to try it, which was the day we boarded the ship, or I would have slept through our whole first day on the ship.

First, try taking one-half of the recommended dosage of Bonine. I had success controlling motion sickness taking a half-tablet of Bonine about two hours before bedtime. Bonine can had a long effect, so one dose a day may take care of it. (If not, take half doses at 12 hour intervals).

If that still makes you sleepy, you can try using the ginger capsules. Some people don't like the taste that ginger leaves in the mouth, but it's better than the alternative.

Now, for an unofficial recommendation or two (these are based on some educated reasoning):

Since Dramamine and Bonine are both related to antihistamine drugs, it might make some sense that the prescription antihistamine products, Allegra or Claritin, may elicit a similar response to motion sickness. I can't ethically or legally recommend using these products for treating motion sickness, but I can tell you that it might be worth discussing with your doctor. And most definitely, trust your doctor's judgement on this.

You might also try the acid secretion blockers like Zantac or Tagamet, however, these are highly selective antihistaminic drug, working only on acid secretion in the stomach. These won't help the root cause of motion sickness (vestibular disturbances in the inner ear).

So, now that I've really overstepped the bounds of good pharmacy practice, I'd better quit while I still have some credibility left.

You might want to try Bonine 2. Our doctor recommended that
instead of Bonine because it isn't supposed to make you drowsy,
while Bonine will.

I like to get a prescription from our doctor for Meclizine because
it's only costs about 1/3 of the bonine and it's compable to
Bonine 2.

I take 1 a day and the only time I have been sick on a cruise is
when I took it the first 4 days, and since I felt great I didn't take
it the other 3 days. On the last day I got really sick because of
rough waters.